Understanding Corruption and Money Laundering in Indonesia

Corruption involves two major stages: first, transferring money from state-owned companies to personal accounts through collusion, and second, laundering the illicit money through placement, layering, and integration.

### The Complex Process of Corruption and Money Laundering in Indonesia's Tin Mining Industry
* 💰 The corruption scheme in the PT Timah Tbk tin mining case involves collusion between company directors, intermediary Harvey Moeis, and illegal miners to **sell tin at inflated prices**.
* 🔍 The corrupt money is disguised as **rental fees** in company records, then funneled through CSR funds to **appear legitimate**.
* 🔄 Money laundering involves three stages: **placement, layering, and integration**, with the dirty money ultimately **entering the perpetrators' personal accounts**.
* 🔺 The Fraud Triangle theory explains the motivations behind corruption: **pressure, rationalization, and opportunity**.
* 🏦 Placement involves entering the financial system, often through legitimate businesses like a laundry service that can **absorb large cash transactions**.
* 🗺 Layering complicates the money trail by **moving it between accounts and assets** to **obscure its origin**.
* 💼 Integration is the final step, where the **laundered money is integrated back into the perpetrators' personal finances**.
* 🛑 The video concludes with a call for **improved corruption reporting and stronger deterrents**, as current asset confiscation laws in Indonesia may not **fully cover state losses**.

Actually, corruption is quite unique. Especially when it involves state losses of up to 271 trillion. Most people think that basically, you receive money, whether from any illicit source, and then you can use it to buy anything. It turns out the process is not as simple as that. Here, I will break down into 2 major stages that need to be passed if, for example, the money from corruption is to be used for daily needs. Or for buying goods, traveling, becoming crazy rich, and so on. Because here, besides covering, I also want to explain how people can corrupt such a large amount of money and the concept of money laundering—where illicit money that actually cannot be acknowledged and is difficult for people to use until it can enter an account and be recognized as legitimate income. And each process has 3 steps. Just to refresh our minds— I know many of you have watched other videos or this video with over 20 million views. Let's start with Chapter 1 first, Explanation/Summary of the Tin Corruption Case. In all these cases, in simple terms, how do we transfer money from PT Timah Tbk—whose income in the last 5 years has been above 50 trillion—into personal accounts or pockets of all the suspects until now?

Most people think that the most important thing is to collude with the owners of large companies, then all the suspects put the money directly into their pockets. Well, it turns out the process is not that simple. So one day, PT Timah Tbk suddenly noticed, 'Why is our tin production so low?' Or not meeting the quota, even though they have a huge area there. After investigating, it was found that the problem was caused by illegal miners whose tin did not go directly to PT Timah Tbk. Instead, it was first held by middlemen. Here we see the problem. PT Timah should have tin at a good price, but the tin is being held by these middlemen or illegal miners. The right and reasonable step should be to take action. 'You are illegally mining here, that's not allowed.' But then an idea emerged to enrich an individual. How did they make this collaboration to enrich themselves? Now we move on to this chart. So first, usually PT Timah Tbk, for example, buys tin for Rp100,000. Then they make a deal—instead of shutting down these illegal miners, they collaborate. I'll buy your tin for 200,000.

Isn't it strange? It's already illegal, but why is it being bought at a higher price? So here's the chronology—suspect Harvey Moeis allegedly called the directors of PT Timah Tbk for a collaboration with these illegal miners. Suspected from 2018-2019. Well, the amount of money involved is huge. PT Timah Tbk buys from these illegal miners—let's say at double the price. But because the company is publicly listed and a state-owned enterprise, it wouldn't make sense in their reports. So, my suspicion is that—in their records, it's still listed as bought at a price of 100 thousand, but the difference of 100 thousand is made to appear as if there were rental fees with this smelter. When in fact, there isn't. So indirectly, these illegal miners are making a profit. It could be quite substantial. And because the intermediary Harvey Moeis is suspected to be involved, they want to split the profits. But the money from these illegal miners cannot just be transferred directly to Harvey Moeis's account. This is just phase 1 or the corruption phase. Because the money obtained is not legitimate. It has to be made to look like rental fees to cover up the profits. Only then does it move to phase 2, which is laundering or in other words, the sin-cleansing tool. Harvey Moeis tells these illegal miners,

If you want a big profit, please release it in the form of CSR funds. Well, CSR is quite tricky. Actually, it has been warned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Because they tend to be somewhat free and difficult to regulate, the funds are easily hidden or often used as a means of gratification. You can call it cashback, reward, bribery, or anything. So, all these illegal miners get a big profit from PT Timah. Again, because of collusion with Harvey Moeis and other suspects. The money is released in the form of CSR to PT QSA where the suspect Helena Lim works as a manager there. Well, this is actually already in the money laundering phase. The money goes through the CSR mechanism, making it somewhat clean for PT QSA. Then, PT QSA—based on my findings—possibly goes for CSR again to distribute to the individual pockets of the suspects involved in this case. QSA is a money exchanger company. So, it's not surprising to receive or distribute money like that. So, the scheme has to be that long. Corruption occurs—where the directors of PT Timah Tbk collude with Harvey Moeis as an intermediary. Colluding with illegal miners, the money is distributed, then enters the money laundering phase. CSR to PT QSA and then back as CSR to the individuals involved.

The summary is like that. But actually, all of this has a formula. I will explain a bit more in the next chapter. Corruption and Money Laundering. How corruption works in obtaining illegal money, and how money laundering works in turning that illegal money into clean money that can be used for personal needs. And this is a method that has been acknowledged by the chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Because the majority of corrupt individuals are highly educated. Some even have a Ph.D. To be able to commit fraud, there are usually three factors needed. Or the famous theory called The Fraud Triangle. This helps us identify high-fraud situations like this. There are pressure, rationalization, and opportunity. Now, the first thing is pressure. I see this from Harvey Moeis' perspective. Pressure is the primary motive that makes people want to cheat. Because there is pressure—whether it's from any party—such as being in debt, being cornered, or even the most common, greed. That's what often happens in corruption cases. It varies for each person. As simple as greed—who doesn't want to get richer? The second is rationalization. It depends on the subject. Once they have their motive, they start thinking about the actions they want to take and whether it can be rationalized. This is where the perpetrators feel that their actions can be rationalized.

What they are going to do can be justified. In reality, it's not. For example, for a company with trillions in revenue, even taking a few billion won't be felt. The last one is opportunity. Opportunity—where, for instance, there is a gap that allows us to commit fraud. 'Oh, it turns out we know this person.' 'Oh, it turns out they are having problems.' Oh, it turns out they can be collaborated with. So, it can be said that in the field of corruption or fraud, this is a death triangle. A chain that will not be broken—until people are afraid to do it. But if, for example, they already have dirty money, they still need to do what is called money laundering. How to launder money? Because why would I be able to get that much money if I can't use it? If it can't be acknowledged in my account, for example— For my assets, for my investments. And money laundering has 3 stages. Placement, layering, and integration. Now, the first one is placement. How can that dirty money, which is not yet owned by corruptors, enter their personal accounts? Step 1 of Placement is that the dirty money must enter the financial system or legitimate and clear financial records. Here, the first placement case is when the dirty money enters their illegal smelter.

They release it through CSR to PT QSA. That's clearly the flow of money, recorded. Another example of placement, for instance, when people buy and sell drugs, it's all in cash. We can't always buy things using cash. So, they rotate it or put it into businesses that don't raise suspicion when they receive a lot of cash. For example, a real laundry business. People come to wash clothes, clothes go in-clothes go out, the cash goes into the business. And if this is done on a large scale, they just create fake invoices. The cash keeps coming in, let's say 100 million every day. Gradually, it becomes real cash. It can be transferred to the bank account of this laundry business. What I mean by laundry is actually washing clothes. The next phase is layering. Layering aims to make it much harder to trace the origin of the money. The placement phase is the most vulnerable phase, usually, people often get caught. But once it passes that, layering is to make it even harder. They move the money around, put it in foreign bank accounts, transfer it to assets, and then trade it. Basically, the money has to keep moving. Only the last step is Integration. That money that was layered before goes into the perpetrator's pocket. This also has to be done well.

For example, the perpetrator provides consulting services to the business, or in the form of the CSR fund earlier. The main thing is the clarity of where the income comes from. So, if you pay attention to the whole process from the beginning to the end, it's not easy. You have to know people at every specific point until they trust that the money will not be misused. The money must be monitored from the beginning to the end. Only then we can move on to the final chapter. Once the formula and solutions are clear, actually the first step is still reporting. Our corruption reporting is not as bold. Because we are already drowned in what we call bureaucratic corruption. It has been prevalent since the VOC era. As simple as bribery. It's easy to be bribed to keep silent on reports like, Just keep quiet. But if, for instance, it has passed through Law Enforcement or the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), in my opinion, they should improve their whistle-blower system. The aim is to encourage the public that if they see the signs I explained earlier, they should report it immediately. In the case of this tin corruption, it was reported by MAKI, the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society. The second thing, in my opinion, is to go back to my explanation in the previous Chapter 2. How to make sure in that triangle of death—those perpetrators are already deterred before they

What about each of those phases? In other countries, the fear is of the death penalty and if the case is impoverished. Well, in Indonesia, neither of those exist. When it comes to corruption or fraud, the rule is that the confiscated assets are only up to the amount that was corrupted and to cover the state's losses. It's really not there. The asset confiscation bill has not been passed and it's unknown whether it will be passed or not. In my opinion, whether we like it or not, this is a deeply ingrained culture in Indonesia. Because I've made a video about this before. Everything revolves around bribery. Even now, when we make an ID card or driver's license—let's be honest, you must have heard stories because the system is difficult, you have to take tests and so on, well, it's better to just pay. And that has become a norm. It's just a pity in my opinion. Because if in cases of corruption like this, where the state suffers losses—if the confiscated assets do not cover all the losses, the ones who will most likely pay are the taxpayers. That's the summary. So that the video is not too long—because in my opinion, it's already quite long and there is still a lot of information left to be discussed. Let's talk about Dewi Sandra— a victim who has no connection to corruption, it's Sandra Dewi— Not to mention whether she will be okay?

Was there a previous prenuptial agreement? Again, this case is still early and the information I found in public is not 100% transparent. So, I might be wrong. There should have been a disclaimer at the beginning of the video. But what do you think? In fact, with corruption, it's like that. It harms certain parties to enrich themselves. I'll see you guys in the next video, bye-bye!

Rahasia di Balik Korupsi 271 TRILIUN

Raymond Chin

The Complex Process of Corruption and Money Laundering

Corruption can lead to staggering state losses, with a complex process of transferring and using illicit money.

The process of corruption involves colluding with companies and using middlemen to enrich individuals, rather than following the proper procedures.

Money laundering is essential for making illicit money usable, involving the steps of placing, layering, and integrating the money to make it appear legitimate.

Alleged Corruption Scheme Involving PT Timah Tbk and Illegal Miners

Harvey Moeis allegedly collaborated with PT Timah Tbk directors to buy from illegal miners at double the price, disguising the extra money as rental fees.

The profits were then reportedly split, and the money was laundered through CSR funds, involving PT QSA and individual suspects, creating a complex corruption scheme.

The Process of Corruption and Money Laundering

Corruption involves obtaining illegal money through the Fraud Triangle of pressure, rationalization, and opportunity, often driven by greed.

Money laundering then helps to turn this illegal money into clean funds through placement, layering, and integration.

The process of money laundering allows corrupt individuals to use their illicit funds for personal gain, starting with the entry of dirty money into the financial system.

Money laundering involves three key stages: placement, layering, and integration, where cash is moved through businesses and bank accounts to obscure its origin.

The process aims to make it difficult to trace the money and eventually integrate it into the perpetrator's assets.

To prevent this, a strong reporting and whistle-blower system is crucial, along with building trust with the public to report any suspicious financial activities.

Improving law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies' whistle-blower systems can help deter potential money laundering activities.

The Culture of Corruption and Asset Confiscation in Indonesia

In Indonesia, there is no fear of the death penalty for corruption, and asset confiscation is limited to the amount corrupted.

The country has not passed an asset confiscation bill, and corruption is deeply ingrained in the culture, affecting everyday processes like obtaining an ID card or driver's license.

This culture of corruption ultimately harms the taxpayers who may have to cover the state's losses.